| Andy Murray | |
|---|---|
| Sport(s) | Ice hockey |
| Current position | |
| Title | Head coach |
| Team | Western Michigan University |
| Conference | Central Collegiate Hockey Association |
| Record | 11–5–5 |
| Biographical details | |
| Born | March 3, 1951 |
| Place of birth | Gladstone, Manitoba |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| 1976–77 1988–90 1990–92 1993–95 1999–06 2006–10 2011–pres |
Boston Travelers Philadelphia Flyers (asst.) Minnesota North Stars (asst.) Winnipeg Jets (asst.) Los Angeles Kings St. Louis Blues Western Michigan University |
Andy Murray (born March 3, 1951) is the current head coach for the Western Michigan Broncos men's ice hockey team of the NCAA Division I Central Collegiate Hockey Association (CCHA). He is a former head coach of the Los Angeles Kings and the St. Louis Blues in the National Hockey League.
Contents |
Andy Murray's family had an auto dealership in Souris, Manitoba that was started by Murray's grandfather. Once Murray was old enough, he began to work there. In 1976, when Murray was 25 years old, his uncle hired him to be the coach of the Brandon Travelers after a brawl. Three years later, he got the head-coaching job at Brandon University in Manitoba while still working at the dealership during the day. In 1981, his father died the day after a victory that qualified Brandon for a National tournament. After that season, he needed to get away, and took a coaching job in Switzerland.[1] In 1988, he went to the United States to be the assistant coach for the Hershey Bears of the American Hockey League. That year, the Bears won the AHL championship, and he was promoted as an assistant coach of the Philadelphia Flyers. He spent two years there before joining as an assistant coach with the Minnesota North Stars, where he made it to the Stanley Cup Finals. In 1992, he went back to Switzerland to coach for Lugano. Two months later, he quit because of a fan revolt. After that, he took a job in Germany before returning to assistant coaching with the Winnipeg Jets, where he stayed until 1995. Murray was named the coach of the Canadian National Hockey Team in 1996, a post he held until 1998. He served as head coach at Shattuck-St. Mary's School for the 1998–99 season.
On June 14, 1999, Andy was named the new head coach of the Los Angeles Kings replacing Larry Robinson, where he stayed for seven seasons
His best success came in 2001, when the Kings forced the Colorado Avalanche to a seven-game series in the Western Conference Semifinals. The Kings forced the seventh game after previously being down three games to one. He garnered a lot of media attention after publicly stating that anyone on his team that wasn't going to give 100% was not to travel with team back to Colorado for game five of the series. The Kings responded, winning game five, 1–0. They made Murray proud once again in game six, when Glen Murray scored in the second overtime to win the game for the Kings, 1–0. Murray made a famous fist pump when exiting the team bench after winning game six in overtime.
On March 21, 2006, Murray was fired by the Kings and was replaced on an interim basis by John Torchetti. He provided colour commentary for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation during their Hockey Night in Canada telecasts of the 2006 Stanley Cup playoffs.
On December 11, 2006, the Blues hired Murray to replace Mike Kitchen as head coach after a seven game losing streak.[2] He coached the Blues to a record of 33–36–13 in his first full season as coach in 2007–2008. On April 10, 2009, Murray coached the Blues from a 15th place showing in the Western Conference at the All-Star Break to a 25–9–7 record down the stretch to clinching the sixth playoff spot, marking the team's first Stanley Cup playoffs appearance since the 2004–05 lockout. Murray's Blues took on the Vancouver Canucks in the opening round of the 2009 Stanley Cup Playoffs and were swept. [3] Murray was named a finalist for the Jack Adams Award for coach of the year during the off-season but lost to Claude Julien. On January 2, 2010, Murray was fired as Blues coach and replaced with Davis Payne.[4]
Andy coached Canada to the three gold medals at the IIHF World Championships in 1997, 2003 and 2007. He was the first coach to accomplish this feat. In the 2010 World Championships, he acted as a consultant to the Swiss team.[5]
On July 25, 2011, it was announced Murray will be the head coach of the Western Michigan Broncos.[6] Murray replaced Jeff Blashill, who left WMU after one season to join the NHL's Detroit Red Wings.[6]
Andy and his wife, Ruth, have three children (all hockey players): two sons Brady and Jordan Murray, and a daughter, Sarah Murray. He is also a distant cousin to Los Angeles Kings center Marty Murray.
| Team | Year | Regular season | Post season | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | W | L | T | OTL | Pts | Finish | Result | |||
| Los Angeles Kings | 1999–2000 | 82 | 39 | 27 | 12 | 4 | 94 | 2nd in Pacific | Lost in First Round (DET) | |
| 2000–01 | 82 | 38 | 28 | 13 | 3 | 92 | 3rd in Pacific | Won First Round (DET) Lost in Second Round (COL) |
||
| 2001–02 | 82 | 40 | 27 | 11 | 4 | 95 | 3rd in Pacific | Lost in First Round (COL) | ||
| 2002–03 | 82 | 33 | 37 | 6 | 6 | 78 | 3rd in Pacific | Missed playoffs | ||
| 2003–04 | 82 | 28 | 29 | 16 | 9 | 81 | 3rd in Pacific | Missed playoffs | ||
| 2005–06 | 70 | 37 | 28 | — | 5 | 79 | 4th in Pacific (89 pts.) | Fired | ||
| St. Louis Blues | 2006–07 | 56 | 27 | 18 | — | 11 | 65 | 3rd in Central (81 pts.) | Missed playoffs | |
| 2007–08 | 82 | 33 | 36 | — | 13 | 79 | 5th in Central | Missed playoffs | ||
| 2008–09 | 82 | 41 | 31 | — | 10 | 92 | 3rd in Central | Lost in First Round (VAN) | ||
| 2009–10 | 40 | 17 | 17 | — | 6 | 40 | 4th in Central | Fired | ||
| Career totals | 10 Seasons | 740 | 333 | 278 | 58 | 71 | 795 | |||
| Preceded by Larry Robinson |
Head coach of the Los Angeles Kings 1999–2006 |
Succeeded by John Torchetti |
| Preceded by Mike Kitchen |
Head coach of the St. Louis Blues 2006–10 |
Succeeded by Davis Payne |
|
|
|||||
|
|
|||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||